Treatment of chronic hepatitis D with interferon alfa-2a

A high dosage of interferon alfa-2a may be an effective treatment for chronic hepatitis D in some patients. Many patients may have a relapse after treatment is discontinued. Among 41 patients with chronic hepatitis D, 14 were treated with 9 million units of interferon alfa-2a, 14 were treated with 3 million units of interferon alfa-2a and 13 received no treatment (control group). Patients in the two treatment groups were treated three times per week for 48 weeks. A complete response to treatment occurred in 50% of the patients treated with the higher dosage, compared with 21% of those treated with the lower dosage and none of the control group. A complete response to treatment was determined by two factors. One was a return to normal blood levels of the enzyme alanine transferase. The other was no detection of hepatitis delta virus in the patient's blood.